Ruidoso to ban major medication violators

A trainer who has a horse test positive for a Class 1 or Class 2 drug during the 2013 meet at Ruidoso Downs will have his stalls revoked and will not be able to enter horses at the New Mexico track, Ruidoso announced on Monday.

R.D. Hubbard, majority owner of Ruidoso, said he has informed the New Mexico Racing Commission, as well as the state’s governor, Susana Martinez, of plans to work with other tracks to implement similar guidelines. The new policy will be included in next year’s stall application, which trainers must sign when requesting accommodations for horses at Ruidoso. The policy could also be coming to Los Alamitos, a Quarter Horse track in Los Angeles owned by Ed Allred.

“I have already spoken with Dr. Ed Allred and he fully supports this guideline and is going to institute it there as well,” Hubbard said in a release. “Furthermore, I am personally going to seek the agreement of the other tracks in New Mexico, as well as Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana to join us in this effort.”

Don Treadway, executive vice president of the American Quarter Horse Association, said that his organization would “take a leadership role” in helping to implement the new policy around the country.

Ruidoso’s move comes on the heels of a rash of positive drug tests over its opening weekend this past Memorial Day. The track had worked with the state racing commission to crack down on the abuse of “designer drugs” by seeking out a lab capable of detecting them, and secured the services of the University of California Davis.

Ruidoso’s mixed meet closed Monday with the running of the $2.4 million All American Futurity for Quarter Horses.